An OPI Cling-Wrap Mani

Yay... It's Friday AND it's a long Holiday Weekend!!  Hope you all have a great one!!  I've been seeing a lot of Saran/Cling Wrap Manis lately, so I decided to give it a go.  I used two colors from OPI's Germany Collection.. German-icure By OPI and Don't Pretzel My Buttons.  Here is a pic of German-icure By OPI by itself..

German-icure By OPI:

German-icure By OPI

I love this color... just not on me.  It gives me "corpse hands" as it makes them look pale and dead lol!  This shimmery coppery-red is made for warm-toned skin, not cool like mine.  Pictured above is three coats of German-icure By OPI.

I still hadn't used Don't Pretzel My Buttons, so I thought that would be a good color to combine with German-icure for a "Cling-Wrap Mani."  I followed this simple tutorial from Nailed It.

Cling-Wrap Mani:

This reminds me of a splatter mixed with marble!  It was so easy and simple!  Pretzel My Buttons is a nice creamy nude with a fabulous formula!

**Great minds think alike.... my pal Destany at Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom posted a Cling-Wrap Mani today too... Check hers out!!**

Weekly Water Marble 8/30/12

Happy Thursday Everyone!  It's time for another water marble.  I was glancing through my polish collection and came across the only a englands I own and thought they'd look pretty together in a marble.  Here they are..

An a england water marble:

direct sunlight

direct sunlight

These three marbled beautifully together!!  I started with a nude base (I think it was OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons).  I marbled with all a englands-- Saint George (green), Perceval (red), and Lady of the Lake (light purple).  The marble kinda takes away the depth of each color, but it's still so pretty, especially in the sunlight.  Saint George is my favorite of these three... the holo-ness is so profound, even in the marble.

**Hope you liked this week's marble..  I'll be back next week with another**

Secret Summer Swap

Happy Wednesday All!!  Today's post is about a "Secret Summer Swap" I was a part of in a facebook group.  At the beginning of summer (or maybe late spring) a bunch of great gals and I decided to send gifts to each other anonymously via elfster (a website for gift exchanges).  Elfster draws names randomly and even allows you to have wishlists and random questions for your "secret person."  We all received our gifts and I can finally reveal my Secret Summer Sender--  It was Tamala!!  Tamala is a great gal I "met" a long time ago in the nail polish world.  She actually was one of the first people I ever did a "swap" with.   She has exquisite taste in polish and is a very poised, classy lady.  :)  Anyway, I absolutely love my gifts from her...My package was so heartfelt and I can tell she put a lot of time and effort in to choosing my gifts, so I wanted to do a post dedicated to Tamala and her generosity...

My gifts from Tam:

Look at all my fun stuff!!  Some delicious liquor I drank on the golf course lol, Paris Sparkles Celery Stalker, some nail brushes, a file, Dior Tuxedo, SOPI It's My Pink, a cute case, and some personalized note cards!!  Ahhh.. I love everything!!  Now, I have all the polishes to share with you..

SOPI It's My Pink (Betsey Johnson)

Ahhh... any of you who knows my taste in polish, knows I absolutely love a nice hot pink creme!!  This one had been on my wishlist for a while and it's so so gorgeous!!  Above is two coats of  It's My Pink.  It's My Pink is infused with Betsey Johnson's signature scent "Too Too".  I love this bright pink!!  I can never have enough hot pink cremes!! :)

Paris Sparkles Celery Stalker:

I added a bunch of indies to my wishlist recently and Celery Stalker was on the top of the list!!  This is my first polish from Paris Sparkles.  Celery Stalker (love the name) has a sheer mint base with silver shimmer, and scattered blue, red, gold, green, black, silver and white glitter.  Pictured above is three coats of Celery Stalker followed by a fast-dry topcoat.  I love the sheerness of this one.. the glitters just swim around at different depths.

Dior Tuxedo:

Gah!!  My first Dior!!  Tam really spoiled me with this package!!  Tuxedo is an amazing midnight blue polish with gorgeous shine and shimmer!  Pictured above is three coats.  Perfection!!

**Thanks again Tam, for spoiling the crap out of me!!  I love my package!! :) **

Color Club + Fashion's Night Out 9/6/12

Live near NYC???  This looks like fun!!  Wish I lived closer.. would love a Color Club Mani!!

::whimsical ideas by pam:: Sweet Baby James & Flower Child

Hey Everyone!  Hope your Tuesday is going well.  I know I've been on a major "indie kick," but I just can't help it... I'm in love with so many of these handmade beauties.  These two by ::whimsical ideas by pam:: are no exception.  Pam recently released six new polishes and the two I'm sharing with you today were the first to catch my eye..  Sweet Baby James and Flower Child.

Sweet Baby James:

Sweet Baby James has a light blue milky base packed with medium pink matte squares, small matte blue squares and small matte white glitters.  You HAVE to dab this polish on as it's really thick, but you'll need almost three coats as the base is so sheer that you'll have "bald spots."  After three coats of dabbing, a coat of Gelous and a fast-dry topcoat, Sweet Baby James is so pretty.  The name of this polish comes from an old James Taylor song which I absolutely love!  The formula could have been a bit more smooth with Sweet Baby James (I added some thinner after the second application), but all-in-all I like this one. :)

Flower Child:

OK, you can add Flower Child to my "favorites list."  Everything about this one is incredible!!  I have two coats of Flower Child followed by a fast-dry topcoat in the pictures above.  I love the simplicity of this one and the formula is amazing also!!  Flower Child's base is a bit more opaque than Sweet Baby James.  Flower Child has a periwinkle base with different sizes of shimmery pink glitter.  The formula dries so smooth with Flower Child, I almost didn't apply a topcoat.  And... I swear this one even smells like flowers, but Pam says it's not supposed to lol.  I'll be wearing Flower Child for a while. :)

**You can see all of Pam's polishes on ::whimsical ideas by pam's:: facebook page.  To order some of Pam's "whimsies", you email her at pea422000@yahoo.com, give her your order and she'll email you back with an invoice from paypal.**

** Do you have any whimsies??  Which are your faves??**

Aphrodite Lacquers.. Friday Night Glitter Bombs

Happy Monday Everyone!!  I have four polishes from Aphrodite Lacquers' "Friday Night Glitter Bombs" to share with you today. I used each polish as a glitter topper. I applied two coats of each  followed by a fast-dry topcoat on different colored bases. On to the swatches..

Aphrodite Lacquers Pre Party:

I have Pre Party layered over Essie Good As Gold in the above pictures.  Square glitter is my new favorite, so I really like Pre Party.  Pre Party has a very very sheer pink base with with gold/pink color changing shimmer and black micro glitter and pink, black, and white square glitter.  I love this one layered over gold!!  I had no issues with application.

Aphrodite Lacquers Peacock Earrings:

direct sunlight

I think Peacock Earrings is my favorite of the four I'm sharing with you today.  I have it layered over ManGlaze Lesbi-honest.  Peacock Earrings had a clear base with holo shimmer and small blue and purple holo glitter.  This one is gorgeous in the sunlight!!  I love the contrast of the tiny blue holo glitter against Lesbi-honest.  The black and white square glitter seems to be Aphrodite's signature finish which I love!!  No issues with application with Peacock Earrings.  LOVE this one!!

Aphrodite Lacquers VIP Room:

VIP Room is almost a one-coater.  It's sooo pretty!  The above pictures remind me of  a million ice cubes floating in the deep blue sea.  :)  I have VIP Room layered over Revlon Royal in the above pictures.  Ha.. I just read on facebook this polish reminds Rebecca at Aphrodite Lacquers of an ice burg!!  Ice burg/Ice cubes... either way, it's gorgeous.  And, this one could be so versatile depending what color you choose to layer it over.  VIP Room has a sheer aqua base with aqua shimmer and glitter, and iridescent squares... PERFECTION!

Aphrodite Lacquers Disco Ball:

Disco Ball has a sheer base with silver shimmer, black micro glitter and black, white and silver squares.  Pictured above is two coats over Color Club Hydrangea Kiss.  I probably should have used three coats.  I did have to dig a little to get the larger glitter to grab on to the brush.  I thought the silver glitter was curling a bit, but it's just the reflection... everything is smooth after a topcoat.  I like Disco Ball, it just isn't as "fun" as the others.

** Rebecca at Aphrodite really comes up with some funny themes.. you should check out some of the other names in this collection:  Catfight, Gossip, Velvet Rope etc..  One word to describe these four is "FUN".  Fun polishes with quality formula... what else could you ask for??**

--You can purchase these four and the rest of the Friday Night Glitter Bombs here on Etsy

--Be sure to like Aphrodite Lacquers on facebook here and follow Aphrodite Lacquers on twitter @AphroditeLacque

--Aphrodite Lacquers were sent to me for review

Ulta "In Bloom" 5 piece mini pack

Happy Sunday Everyone..  hope you're all having a great weekend!  It's warm & sunny and absolutely beautiful here in Ohio so I've been taking advantage of the warm weather and spending much of my free time outside.  I swatched this collection of five polishes from Ulta a few weeks ago and finally got around to posting them today..

Ulta "In Bloom" Collection:

My friend, Erika at Polish Fixation picked this cute set up for me on a recent trip to Ulta. I have a genuine love for almost anything to do with flowers, so I had to have this set. :)

Snap Dragon Me Down:

Snap Dragon Me Down is a pretty sheer golden orange shimmer.  Pictured above is three coats.  Cute name, cute polish :)

Voted Most Poppy-Ular:

Voted Most Poppy-Ular is the only creme in this collection.  It a pretty tomatoe-y red with a gorgeous shiny finish.  This one is my favorite out of this collection because I really love creams.  Pictured above is two coats of Voted Most Poppy-Ular.

In A Daisy:

I'm not a huge fan of yellows, but In A Daisy is really pretty after three coats.  Very flower-y, very fun! :)

Tu-Lip Service:

In the bottle, Tu-Lip Service looks almost identical to Snap Dragon Me Down, but on the nail, this one is more red-orange and the color shifts from red to orange depending on the lighting.  I really like this one!!

Fleur-Ever Yours:

I love this one also because I'm such a "pink" lover.  Fleur-Ever Yours is a pretty raspberry shimmer.  Pictured above is two coats. 

Ulta's "In Bloom" Collection is really fun and for $9.95 (plus a 20% off coupon), you really can't beat the price!  Formula-wise, these polishes are excellent.  I'm glad I asked Erika to pick these up for me! :)

Hey Dugan!!  He loves watching me swatch :)

Naild' It Summer Lovin' Collection

Happy Friday Everyone!!  I have a fun collection from Naild' It on Etsy to share with you today.  It's the "Summer Lovin' Collection" and contains three really fun glitters!!

Naild' It SUN-flower Seeds:

SUN-Flower Seeds is pure perfection!!  This glitter totally reminds me of a sunflower, which is my favorite flower!!  I have two coats of SUN-Flower Seeds over OPI Gargantuan Green Grape followed by a Fast-Dry Topcoat.  SUN-Flower Seeds contains black, orange, yellow and green glitters in a clear base. (I love the scattered large round black glitter).  I also love the micro glitter that looks like sugar sprinkles!!  Love, love, love this one!!  :)

Naild' It WATER:

WATER is fun too. The label is all jacked up because each of these polishes arrived with dried up polish all over the rim so I had to run this one under hot water because I couldn't open it :(  After I finally got it open and cleaned off the rim, the polish itself was fine and I had no issues with application.  I have two coats of WATER over China Glaze Sweet Hook followed by a Fast-Dry topcoat.  WATER contains a mix of glitters in greens, blues, purples and white in a clear base.  This one is my least favorite of the three, but I still like it.

Naild' It MELON:

MELON is so much fun too!!  I really like the combo I chose-- I layered two coats of MELON over OPI Thanks A Windmillion. (Sidenote:  Thanks A Windmillion stained the crap out of my nails-- it was horrible!!).  MELON totally reminds me of watermelon... Naild' It really hit the nail on the head when creating this one!!  MELON contains pinks, greens, white and black glitter in a clear base.  I love the random larger black squares and hearts and white bars in MELON!!  I ALMOST love this one as much as SUN-Flower Seeds.. almost.  :)

--Naild' It Polishes are available on Etsy here.  The only one I see available currently from this collection is MELON

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Weekly Water Marble 8/23/12

Hey Everyone... It's time for my "Weekly Water Marble."  This one was totally spur-of-the-moment because I originally planned on using the OPI Neons, but they totally did not work for me. (I couldn't even create a bullseye with them).  I ran to my helmer and grabbed three Essies and I really like the outcome..

An Ice Cream-y Essie Marble:

I started with the white base I originally had on for the OPI Neons.  Since they didn't work, I marbled with all Essies: Hot Coco, Turquoise & Caicos, and French Affair.  The results are a "Chocolate, Mint, Strawberry Marble". :)  These Essies were really easy to marble with and.... look, NO BUBBLES!!  I usually get a few of those darn bubble spots.

**I hope you enjoyed this week's marble.  I'll be back next week with another...  Any color combos you'd like to see??  I'm running out of ideas.**